Strength of Master Plan Highlighted in Business Facilities Magazine

Wednesday, January 02, 2019

The strength of Irvine’s Master Plan was recently featured in an online article from Business Facilities Magazine, a leading full-service media brand specializing in the site selection marketplace. Mentioned in the feature are the many reasons Irvine is poised for economic growth and success, including its highly-ranked educational institutions, its growing innovation ecosystem, and livable neighborhood centers. Read the full article below.

Irvine, CA: The Smart Choice

Why Irvine, CA? Sometimes the address says it all.

Everyone knows that there are certainly less expensive places to start or locate a business—any city in North Dakota or Alabama for starters—but there isn’t a smarter or better place to start or locate a business than Irvine, California. And it all began with the stunningly forward-thinking vision that transformed 93,000 acres into an economic powerhouse and one of the most livable cities in the United States.

The Irvine family took a long view of this land and its place in the evolution of the area. They adopted a powerful proposition that the land, and all those who would live and work on it, would be best served by a Master Plan that fostered the highest quality of life through preservation of “nonrenewable” assets and resources. They conceived of artfully designed neighborhoods and villages, acres of open space and livable neighborhood centers and regional centers that would support a high quality of life and serve as an economic powerhouse for Fortune 500 companies and robust, cutting edge industry sectors in the Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology and Digital Arts & Media just to name the top performers.

Why Irvine? Because the connection between people, their environment, livability and economic well-being was a guiding principle.

The Master Plan approached every development detail with the precision of a neurosurgeon. The planners integrated their plan with the existing freeways and developed six lane arterials to increase mobility and accessibility. Infrastructure and supporting systems were designed to anticipate growth. Recognizing the efficiency, convenience and environmental advantages of proximity to work centers, commercial developments were strategically located close to villages. Unique residential villages were surrounded by open areas, recreational amenities and thousands of acres of preserved land.

More than 50,000 acres of the original 93,000 acres have been preserved for parks, trails and natural open space. The Irvine Company understood the value of balance in the sustainability equation. And the federal government and the State if California agreed when they assigned National Landmark status to this acreage recognizing its ecological diversity and environmental significance.

Spectacular office buildings rose in the Irvine Business Corridor. Beautifully manicured office parks attracted global companies. Edwards Life Sciences, Broadcom, Western Digital and Allergan were born here. And world-class lifestyle, retail and entertainment complexes like the Irvine Spectrum served as a magnet for yet another business corridor fueling innovation and technology development.

Why Irvine? Because education is essential to talent development, attraction and retention.

Education, considered essential to a sustainable community, was and still is, a priority. Nearly every village in Irvine has a school in its footprint. And with the addition of a now nationally recognized university, the University of California at Irvine 50 years ago, UCI, with its well-earned reputation for research and development and attracting a global student body, would grow side-by-side with the new City of Irvine. Rooted in Irvine’s premier K-12 educational system and its fifteen university and college campuses within its boundaries, Irvine can claim an enviable 96 percent high school graduation rate and 69 percent advance degree rate that fuels a robust talent pipeline.

Innovation and the next big idea have been nurtured here for decades. UCI’s Applied Innovation promises to greatly enhance an already strong innovation eco-system of hubs, collaborative work spaces, mentoring, capital, incubators and accelerators like OCTANe, EvoNexus and more keeps Irvine on the leading edge of the 21st century.

Sustainability Is a Core Value

Why Irvine? Because sustainability is a core value not an option.

We are surrounded by rolling hills, city blocks of green space, sumptuous office park environments, fountains and parks sustained with award-winning water reclamation systems, sparkling, well maintained Energy Star or LEED certified office buildings, wide, beautifully manicured boulevards and thoroughfares built to manage and ease traffic congestion and reduce emissions, and clean and safe streets, office centers and neighborhoods.

It takes everyone working together to be named Safest City in America (population over 100,000) since 2005 and America’s Best Run City. And Irvine is always in the Top Five for Best City for families, Best City to raise children and Best City for young adults.

Why Irvine? Because we all respect and cultivate the assets and resources that contribute to success.

It was that original Irvine Company vision and values of responsible development, preservation of open and green space, appreciation for scale and preparation for growth that make the City of Irvine unique. It is the City’s leadership and ongoing commitment to that vision that fuels the economic powerhouse capable of offering and sustaining the highest quality of life and a fertile business environment. And it is the Greater Irvine Chamber’s Irvine Ready! program—and its 80 plus support experts—that empowers companies to grow here, relocate or expand here fearlessly.

This compelling combination is what attracts and retains global companies, top CEOs, dreamers and entrepreneurs, start-ups and growth companies, the best and most highly skilled talent and foreign and domestic investment.